Davis and Hazle Buck Ewing

Davis Weldon Ewing

Born into a prominent family in Bloomington, Illinois on July 21, 1876, Davis founded and ran his own concrete business the Davis Ewing Concrete Company when the demands for concrete streets and sidewalks increased in the community. His father, James Stevenson Ewing, was the minister to Belgium during Grover Cleveland’s presidency and Adlai Ewing Stevenson I vice-presidency. James Ewing and Adlai Stevenson were law partners and first cousins. His grandfather, John Willis Ewing was the fifth mayor of Bloomington in 1854. Davis was involved in many local organizations. He was president of the Bloomington Normal Art Association 1922-24, president of Community Players 1926-27, served on the Board of Directors of the Manufactured Ice Company 1911-32 and was founder and president of the Davis Ewing Concrete Company, to name a few. Davis died at the age of 96 in 1972 in Mt. Dora Florida, he is buried in the Ewing family plot at Parkhill Cemetery in Bloomington.

Hazle Buck Ewing

Lillian Hazle Buck was born in Cleveland, Ohio on December 25, 1880. Her father, Orlando John Buck (O.J.), was partners with the Chicago entrepreneur William Wrigley, Jr. in a chewing gum company. Her formal education culminated with a Bachelor of Philosophy from the University of Chicago in 1902. Hazle was passionate about environmental issues, international affairs, and gender equality. Throughout her life, she made contributions to many social causes. Returning from a yearlong trip around the world in 1925, she was determined to pursue the promotion of international friendships. She established the School of Nations at Principia College in Elsah, Illinois for the development of international studies. With world peace as its goal, the college provided scholarships for international studies and funded international exchange of students, teachers, and visiting lecturers. Hazle served as a trustee of the college for many years, in 1957 she was conferred a Doctor of Laws honorary degree.

Hazle supported many causes over her lifetime. She joined the women's suffrage movement in 1915 and devoted the next four years to working with local, state, and national leaders to help secure voting rights for women. The Hazle Buck Ewing suffrage collection has been digitized and is available at https://library.illinoisstate.edu/collections/hazle-ewing/

Through her philanthropy, she helped found the School of Nursing at Illinois Wesleyan University and was instrumental in the founding of Victory Hall, an orphanage for boys. Hazle provided the right-of-way to the preservation of Funk’s Grove nature track and donated land to the City of Bloomington for the development of the Ewing Parks.

The community continues to benefit from Hazle’s contributions, she bequeathed more than $1 million to social causes including the Miller Park Zoo Foundation and to the Illinois State University Foundation her home Sunset Hill (Ewing Manor) and the surrounding grounds. Hazle died at the age of 88 in 1969 at her home Sunset Hill and is buried in Crivitz, Wisconsin on the Buck Family Ranch.

Davis Weldon and Hazle Buck Ewing

Davis and Hazle meet in 1905 at a Christian Science meeting in Chicago, Illinois. They were married on October 7, 1907 at Hazle’s parents’ home in Chicago. The couple adopted one son, Ralph, and raised a second son, Nelson, who was from Victory Hall, an orphanage for boys that Hazle helped to establish in 1919.

Sunset Hill (Ewing Manor) is a symbol of Davis Ewing’s love of architecture and Hazle Buck Ewing’s passion for philanthropy and pursuit of intercultural understanding. A world tour the Ewing’s took between 1924 – 1925 inspired both of their passions.

The couple resided on East Jefferson (1907-1911), 1522 East Olive (1911-1929) in Bloomington before building their home on 60 acres between 1928-1929, located east of Bloomington after they returned from their year-long trip around the world. They named it “Sunset Hill” in honor of Jens Jenson, their landscape architect who designed the curving pathway where both sunrise and sunset could be viewed. Davis was greatly involved in the planning and construction of their new home. Davis lived at Sunset Hill (Ewing Manor) less than a year, the couple divorced in 1931.

Life in Bloomington, Illinois

After the divorce, Julia Fairfax Hodge, known to the family as Cousin Julia, resided at Sunset Hill helping with the running of the home. Hazle and Julia worked together on philanthropic causes and frequently entertained guests. Julia died at the age of 88 and is buried in Evergreen Memorial Cemetery in Bloomington.

Legacy

The local newspaper the Pantagraph stated after her death “Hazle Buck Ewing had a keen understanding of the responsibilities and opportunities wealth brings…Bloomington and Normal are better places for her being here. Mrs. Ewing dedicated much of her effort and money to that end.” September 2, 1969